Race Track news source: Fairgrounds Race Course - http://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/
Fair Grounds Announces 2006-07 Stakes Schedule
NEW ORLEANS, LA. (August 11, 2006)
The 2006-2007 Fair Grounds Race Course Stakes Schedule announced today by track president Randall E. Soth is best described as record-setting.
Fair Grounds’ first meet in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina will include 65 stakes worth more than $7.7 million, the highest totals in the track’s 134-year history.
The highlight of the schedule will be Louisiana Derby Day on Saturday, March 10, 2007. Five stakes worth $2.1 million are scheduled, making it the richest day of racing in Louisiana history. Fair Grounds’ four Grade II stakes, including the 94th running of the Louisiana Derby, will be run on one day.
The four Grade II races – which also include the Fair Grounds Oaks, New Orleans Handicap and Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap – are part of a record 10 graded stakes on the 2006-07 slate.
“We are pleased to be able to offer a vastly enhanced stakes program for our first season back in New Orleans,” said Soth. “Our goals were to enhance our major event days and fill in gaps in some divisions, and we believe this schedule accomplishes both.”
The growth of the schedule is most apparent on the major event days that became the anchor of Fair Grounds’ schedule two seasons ago. Each day has grown by one stakes race.
The 16th edition of Louisiana Champions Day on Dec. 9 includes 11 races, with the addition of the Ladies Sprint. The Colonel Power Stakes was moved to “Road to the Derby” Kickoff Day Jan. 13. The Grade III Fair Grounds Breeders’ Cup Handicap was added to Louisiana Derby Preview Day Feb. 10, and the previously dormant Bienville Stakes returns to the stakes schedule on Louisiana Derby Day.
The other major event is Louisiana Lagniappe Weekend on the meet’s closing weekend, March 24-25. Inaugurated for last season’s meet at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, Lagniappe Weekend features 10 stakes, including six for state-breds. Five stakes will be run each day.
The Bienville and Esplanade Stakes return to the schedule for the first time in more than a decade. Previously run for state-breds, both races will be sprints for older fillies and mares.
Besides the Champions Day Ladies Sprint, four other new races were added to the schedule: the “Buddy” Diliberto Memorial Handicap, named for the late New Orleans broadcaster, on Dec. 16 for older horses on turf; the Bonapaw Stakes, named for the locally owned Grade I winner, Dec. 23 for sprinters on turf; the Fortin Handicap, named for the street bordering Fair Grounds to the south, for older fillies and mares on March 17, and the Grindstone Stakes, named for the 1996 Louisiana Derby and Kentucky Derby winner, for 3-year-olds on turf on March 24.
Fair Grounds’ 81-day meet begins Nov. 23 with the traditional opening-day feature, the $75,000 Thanksgiving Handicap for sprinters.
Fair Grounds Race Course, the nation’s third-oldest Thoroughbred racing facility, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) and also operates off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. Fair Grounds’ 135th season, the first live racing in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, begins Nov. 23, 2006, and is headlined by the 94th running of the $600,000 Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 10, 2007. Information about Fair Grounds can be found on the Internet at www.fairgroundsracecourse.com. |
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
